by The Wayfinder A bigger number is not always an improvement. Ask anyone who has stepped on a bathroom scale. It tells one how much one weighs but gaining weight doesn’t automatically mean becoming healthier For years, Sint Maarten has celebrated growth by counting visitor arrivals. Before another record is jubilated, one should ask whether records are broken, or whether something else is broken. One should not confuse volume with wisdom. It is easy to count. Becoming better requires thinking. Sint Maarten may be measuring tourism arrivals more accurately than it measures whether its own people can afford to live…
Author: The Publisher
by The Wayfinder Sint Maarten has a problem that nobody likes to talk about. It is a country. But by almost every practical measure, it is the size and scale of a small city. That is not an insult. It is arithmetic. And arithmetic has an irritating habit: it does not care about feelings. Sint Maarten has many of the responsibilities of a country. The challenge is not to deny either one. The challenge is to organize accordingly. Pretending the challenge does not exist will not make the bill disappear. That bill for all this machinery must be paid by…
by The Wayfinder There is a peculiar situation in St. Maarten. There are people looking for work, and there is work looking for people. At first glance, this seems like good news. They should be getting along beautifully. But, apparently, they haven’t met yet. Now, such is annoying for the people without jobs and for the jobs without people. But especially for the people who have to figure out what to do about it. It may be because of a system that lacks the ability to connect the two or a missing person who knows how to connect them. The…
Business owners, investors, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs are being encouraged to complete an anonymous survey that will help determine how the proposed agency should operate and whom it should serve. PHILIPSBURG — If you own a business, have invested in Sint Maarten, are trying to grow an enterprise or are considering starting a business on the island, the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication wants to hear from you. TEATT is exploring the possible establishment of a Sint Maarten Investment Promotion Agency, commonly referred to as an IPA. As part of that process, an anonymous Business and Investor Survey…
An open letter to the Minister of VROMI Dear Minister of VROMI, When last have you had a good goat stew? I am not asking because I want to invite you to lunch. I am asking because there is presently a goat working on Front Street, and judging from the photograph circulating on Facebook, it may be one of the most productive members of the Government’s street-cleaning programme. The animal was photographed with its head down, diligently removing weeds from the curb. No reflective vest. No Government vehicle. No supervisor leaning on a shovel. No consultant preparing an assessment. No…
CAY HILL, St. Maarten — St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) recently provided a tour of the St. Maarten General Hospital (SMGH) construction site to Members of Parliament (MPs) and other Parliament staff. The visit was part of SMMC’s ongoing efforts to engage directly with stakeholders and the community, providing vital information and updates on healthcare developments and the new hospital project. The visit began with a presentation on SMMC, its medical developments and SMGH, followed by a question-and-answer opportunity. The MPs and their delegation were then given construction personal protective equipment (PPE) and led onto the active construction site. They…
by The Wayfinder Increased government travel spending deserves scrutiny—not necessarily because travel is wrong, but because every trip should have a demonstrable purpose and return. When a community has financial constraints, what should it spend its scarce money on—and who really needs to travel on behalf of that community? Cg. 1 million is roughly what a 30% restructuring could save. A 25–40% reduction in cost without eliminating necessary travel is conceivable if the system is redesigned around purpose, delegation size, procurement and accountability. The objective should not be to cut travel by 40%. It should be to eliminate 40% of…
by The Wayfinder Which political statement or decision would survive if every politician had to publish the evidence behind it? A community can become tired of politicians trying to appear larger than life, with grand promises, grand projects, grand announcements, grand ceremonies. A project is not successful because it was launched; it is only successful when it produces measurable benefits. Do not confuse announcements with results. That is exactly how things often get out of perspective in communication with bluff, fluff and stuff. It may eventually become self-deception. A government can create: committees, authorities, consultants, strategies, reports, conferences, slogans, glossy…
by The Wayfinder The increased arrival numbers, be it cruise or air passengers, are unequivocally positive. But numbers of arrivals are a volume measurement, not a prosperity measurement. Turn the debate from tourism promotion into tourism economics. St. Maarten’s tourism promotion may need a serious review and re-evaluation, not because the existing strategy has failed, but because it has succeeded in a way that may now be creating the wrong incentives. The review is not an attack on tourism or cruise. It is the next stage of tourism maturity. The key question should no longer be: “How do we get…
There comes a moment in every industry when the evidence becomes too overwhelming to ignore. For Caribbean cruise tourism, that moment has arrived. For years, governments across the region have celebrated ever-growing cruise arrival statistics. Every new record has been accompanied by press releases, ribbon cuttings, photo opportunities and declarations of another successful tourism season. Yet a very different conversation is now taking place among economists, hotel operators, tourism researchers and even long-time supporters of the cruise industry. Across the Caribbean, professionals are beginning to ask a question that should have been asked years ago: Who is really benefiting from…
